I straightened one local store manager out about that. I tipped the bag boy and he jumped his ass about it. When I found out I jumped his ass. I told him it was between me and the kid and if I wanted to tip him it wasn't any of his business. If he didn't like it I'd be glad to go to another store and call his district manager and tell him that he was a fool who thought his stupid "please no tipping" was enforceable on his customers. He apologized and I continue to tip the baggers there.

No, no we dont. As someone who spent almost every black friday since 2000 working retail, I will tell you that it really sucks. No additional pay. Its a mandatory work day. Since most places like to limit overtime, you get fewer hours for the rest of the week so you can be scheduled for 8-14hrs on black friday and not go over 40. (in most cases, there are exceptions of course).

The only good part is if you work somewhere that gives you a commission and you get stuck behind a register. My paycheck was usually doubled. The bad part is that most people are waiting for those sales, so the paycheck before and after that tend to be a little bit lower.

Although, on a masochistic side, it can be kind of a rush as long as nothing catastrophic happens.

Just you wait it will come there as well. Up here in Canada for the last couple years we have started to see Black Friday deals. Of course the reasoning I get is that shoppers in Canada go down to the states to get Black Friday deals so retailers up here were doing the same thing to drive up customers. Something that has been trending since the dollar became close to even across the boarder.

I hope you don't see it. It's like a disease every year it spreads further.

Just you wait it will come there as well. Up here in Canada for the last couple years we have started to see Black Friday deals.

Up here? You are not one penny better than your southern neighbours. The rest of the world doesn't celebrate thanksgiving, so there is no black Friday here! We - down here in the Netherlands - have two free Christmas days however, so that does compensate a little. Our black Friday is a Saturday and we have two of them, the first is the last Saturday before Sinterklaas (who is not Santa), and the second the last Saturday before Christmas.

Funny thing is that around march, when the prices really go down, there is no anouncement, and people don't go shopping. That used to happen at january too, but then people learned the trick, and started to shop at that time. So the stores learned about that, started to announce january discounts, and raised their price.

As a rule, when somebody is anouncing loud that "We lowered our prices", it's because they didn't. When they do lower their prices, they are usualy quiet about it.

Basically, yeah. Wal*Mart, in a fit of holiday spirit, decided to start it Thursday evening this year, during the one fucking day per year that people working shit jobs in retail used to get to spend with their families.

Boxing Day in the UK is being made into Black Friday, but it actually wasn't at least a decade ago. I tried to shop on Dec 26th in two large English cities on 2001 and 2002. Only Mickey D's was open in both. Now, there's more and more pressure from some nebulous force to open up shops, and even the media are briefed and run pieces on 'Boxing Day sales', when in fact, most start on Dec 27th (not a holiday).

That's about a close to accurate as you can get with it. Being in the US myself, I find this sort of thing appalling. I've had to listen to co-worked talked for the past few days about how they are going to plan their routes to get all the deals. I've heard some talk about leaving at midnight so they can be at a particular store when they open and some absurd hour just so they can spend money. I, for one, do most of my shopping early. I only need to find a few small gifts for some people now, and I'll likely do it from the comfort of my living room couch. Retail shopping is bad enough the rest of the year, I cannot understand this overt nod to excessive consumerism.

It seems a lot of retailers here are having their own Black Friday specials. Although they're doing it for a different reason: they're trying to keep people in the country instead of going across the border to shop. I know in downtown Vancouver they're advertising a weekend sale starting Friday (it's not limited to one day.)

Fortunately, I don't belong to the "Wait girl! Are those shoes on SALE?" category. I buy stuff when I need it and don't risk being crushed by crazy shopper mobs or yelling at the monitor because the overloaded online store webpage doesn't refresh fast enough. Have friends who participated to both occurrences and man, it ain't funny. Not to mention incorrect marketing practices, for example raise the price by 25% a week before and then write "30% OFF" during Black Friday (or sometimes only "20% OFF" for extra trolling).Yes, I'm not from the US but this psychosis caught wings here in Romania as well. And it works; last year, one of our major online IT retailers sold practically EVERYTHING they had, all stock, from voltage converters to 100K USD plasma screens. All was gone in a matter of hours. I know because I incidentally tried to buy a PC component later on that Friday last year and there was nothing in stock. Then I realized why.Honestly, I think those shoppers are a bit crazy.

Fortunately, I don't belong to the "Wait girl! Are those shoes on SALE?" category. I buy stuff when I need it

You're silly. Buy stuff you need, don't buy it WHEN you need it. Check out Lands' End, business casual outfitters, nice stuff, good quality and I like the visual style better than Polo or Doc Martin. Which is good for me, because Lands' End frequently has stupid sales like $40 off orders over $100 with free shipping, or straight 30% off, or whatnot. So you know what I do? I check the site sometimes. I check overstock (now "Sale") to see if they're getting rid of stuff I want in my size. Sometimes, when they're giving $40 off, I'll make 3-4 $100 orders and take the coupon, including stuff from the Sale section. I wind up with $70 pants and $50 shirts and such that were $40 or $25 in Overstock, with some 30%-40% discounted from that.

I spent $24 each on really nice $70 pants last time.. bought $600 of clothes in about $230. I don't need a vast array of new pants right now, but I could top up on shirts, socks, and t-shirts. Looks like they're having 30% off, but nothing I want in Sale so no combos. Still a good opportunity to nab some socks and a decent shirt or two to top up.

They have promotions like this 3-5 times a year. I'm in no rush. Not today, maybe later in December.

Read this again."Buy stuff you need" - clearly implied I do need it, and clearly I'm going to buy it when I need it, because the need is present.To be more clear: If I need something, I'll buy it then, rather than wait for whatever time comes when it's 20% off or whatever. As far as clothing goes, I only buy it from overstock stores we have here, where everything is on sale anyway, with as much as 80% off. I need a pair of jeans? I go to those cheap stores and just get it.

Also, you clearly missed my country of origin. It is NOT the US. And Lands' End, for example, charges to ship overseas add at least 10% cost (for above 4500 USD orders!), which makes it "unfeasible" for me. Prices here are already way lower than what I see there anyway. So thanks for the detailed, yet useless answer. Keep trying though:)

I think GP meant: buy stuff when it is cheap as soon as you are convinced you WILL need it. In context: if you see shoes that you like and that are cheap. You do not need shoes, but at some point, probably in the next 6 month, you will. If the shoes is half price today, you'd better buy it now, despite you do not need it yet.

While I avoid shopping like the plague and when I do go it becomes an exercise in efficiency I suggest that you keep your children under control. I really hate people's feral children that run free through stores and the parents who think their precious little snowflakes can do no wrong. When I hear one coming around an end cap I lift the legs up a bit more so that they go plowing into my knee as they come around the corner. Hell my oldest did that a few times and got plowed over by other people's cart when he refused to stay by the cart and the people who he plowed into were apologetic about it. I tell them don't worry about it as I keep telling him to stay by the cart so he doesn't run into another cart but he doesn't listen. It is amazing how well negitive reinforcement works especially when you tell them what will happen if they don't behave and then it happens when they don't. I always tell him the reason for things and when things like this happen I explain why and remind him of why I tell him things.

I do kinda like going to Target Friday evening. It looks like it's been through a war. Everything's picked over, there's stuff all over the floors, the employees look like they've been ducking live ammunition all day... it's great.

With the exception of grocery shopping, I do pretty much all of my shopping online. Christmas shopping is a lot more fun now that I don't have to fight the crowds! And I can easily get the nieces and nephews exactly what they want.

Oh, excepting car shopping as well... that's done in person, but it only happens once a decade or thereabouts (I really do still have - and use - a 93 Escort Wagon!).

Unless you specifically oppose Black Friday, this is one of the most pointless movements ever.

I specifically oppose Black Friday. Encouraging a mob to be present at one location, fighting for limited quantities of a product, is simply irresponsible. People get trampled every year, and then you get the nuts [cbsnews.com] who will pepper spray or even shoot their competitors.

I don't think it should be illegal or anything, but I do my part by not participating in it.

Christmas gifts are for children.
If I want something, I'll buy it. If I don't own something, that means I don't want it.
Holidays are for visiting friends and family, getting together and having fun.
Giving other adults gifts? Fuhgeddaboudit. Buy your own damn junk - then you get exactly what you want - and undoubtedly spend less money.
No more "I don't know what Uncle Fred would like. What do you think?" Bah!

Becasue all gifts are just things you buy.Seriously dude, you might want to think again.I have a one of a kind glass ornament, hand made and its beautiful.It was s great gift.My kids make my things. one year my someone made me a little minecraft game where I though levers in a sequence and then a huge explosion happen revealing the words 'Happy Birthday, Dad" underneath it.

Good luck buying that.

One year, a friend gave me a hand made and painted papper lanterns from overseas. It's really cool and nice. I never would have bought that for myself.I don't give, 'junk'.

Instead of limiting gift giving to one or two fixed days per year, I prefer to implement what I call "No Reason Whatsoever Day". That can happen any day of the year. You come into possession of something that someone you know may like and you may not need, you hand it over to them for no reason whatsoever.

Got someone dear to you in your thoughts? Treat them to a nice surprise lunch for no reason whatsoever.

Know someone who is overwhelmed with life and feels like they are being pulled in 20 directions at once with no time to step back and take care of little neglected day to day tasks? Pay them a visit and lend a hand around their home with little chores here and there for no reason whatsoever.

OK, I may have seemed a bit strong on my Scroogeness. When you have children, giving them gifts and, yes, receiving handmade gifts from them is wonderful. I never said it wasn't (if you read what I wrote).

But I stand by my contention that adults giving gifts to other adults is, for the most part, just wrong.

When you are close to another adult and wish to give them something special, that's great but, in my opinion, that's what birthdays are for -- a time for a special gift to someone special. (Although, why wait for some arbitrary day? Just give a friend a gift if you want to, any time).

Chirstmas has become too commercial where you go deeply into debt, buying unwanted things for other adults you don't even know very well -- just because "it's expected". Now that's wrong.

Where there may be exceptions, there is nothing wrong with simply banning adult to adult gifting on Christmas. Trust me, pretty much every adult involved will be grateful. Instead, let it be a time of getting together for family and friends.

I fully agree. If I want something I buy it. I do buy my wife jewelry and perfume and such but it's because I want her to have it not because she buys me something. I tell everyone every Christmas not to buy me a gift. I give my Grandchildren gifts and I invite family over to eat and to me that's more fun than getting junk from people.

Giving other adults gifts? Fuhgeddaboudit. Buy your own damn junk - then you get exactly what you want - and undoubtedly spend less money.

The best thing is when someone else gets you a present you needed but hadn't realized you needed, or when you managed to do the same in reverse for someone. Yes, it takes thought and really knowing what someone wants and needs, and no, it doesn't have to cost a lot; it's the fact that you appreciate someone enough to think that much about them that really counts.

Where I used to work we got together and had fundraisers during the year to raise money to buy bikes and coats for under privileged children. I really enjoyed that a lot more than swapping gifts with coworkers. The happy smiles on those children's faces made Christmas for us.

I've got to work for 6 hours on Friday.:>( .
Then we've got the family tradition of Turkey-day leftovers on Friday with all the friends who come back to town but ate with their own families on Thursday: my sister and her friends are back from college, my brother's back from work with girlfriend in tow; so we have a motley cru(mlaut)e of kids and adults gathering Friday evening followed by going off to the beach or the movie theater in the evening/night. It's effectively giving Thanks for the left-overs day. Happy gut-busting Turkey day to all who feast today!

I will gladly spend a little bit more to not have to put up with the stress and hostility.

I was listening to the police scanner earlier tonight, and a good 25% of the calls were to various Best Buys and other stores. People threatening each other with knives. Disturbing the peace. Drunk in public. All to "save" a few hundred dollars.

Maybe I am jaded, but I want to shake some sense into those people. If a few hundred dollars is going to push people to those extremes, they probably cannot really afford whatever they are buying in the first place.

My wife and her best friend see Black Friday as a sporting event. They make tshirts, go out, shop like crazy, drink lots of coffee, and have a good time (while getting almost all our Christmas shopping done). She enjoys it, and I get to sit at home and do whatever I want. I avoid going out completely, because people are insane and it makes me want to shoot them. I imagine a lot of people on here have similar situations.

Walmart is one of the most financially successful companies in the world. Yet, Walmart pays its employees so little that many Walmart employees need government assistance for basic necessities ( health care, food stamps, etc ). In other words, the private profits of Walmart are being subsidized by the public funds from American taxpayers.

I find it despicable that WalMart & Target feel it necessary to make all their employees work Thanksgiving evening when they should be home fighting with their families. This is making everyone's lives more miserable in a feeble attempt to stretch out the holiday shopping season in the vain hope of eeking out a few more bucks.

I'm glad for your success. I truly love to hear stories like yours and I'm proud for you. Having said that you sound like you have above average intelligence and lots of initiative and that's good. Not everyone has what you have. Some people are going to end up working at Walmart because it's the best that they are capable of. Just because people aren't capable of doing high skill work doesn't mean it's okay to treat them shitty. This constant greedy drive to snatch every single penny out there no matter what it does to people is wrong.

Actually, there are lots of here in the USA who don't go shopping on Black Friday. Personally, I'll be spending the weekend at an SF convention, but even if I weren't, I'd not be shopping this weekend. I find the whole idea ludicrous.